Neither of the two courses where I've played around 99% of my golf has a range but when I do go to a course that has one I start with a 4 iron.

I heard one of the pros say he did that so he would be sure to not start his day by hitting a bad wedge. He said if he hits a bad shot with a long iron his reaction is more like "So what? It's a long iron." If he did it with a wedge his reaction would be "Oh no. I've got a game to play and I can't hit a wedge."

I decided it would be a good thing for me to try because I hit long irons better than anything else and it gets me in a better ball striking groove from the start.

This is the kind of thing I was wondering as well. There is some metal aspect to warming up along with the physical. Maybe it's not just the actual muscles that need the warmup.

This is the kind of thing I was wondering as well. There is some metal aspect to warming up along with the physical. Maybe it's not just the actual muscles that need the warmup.

The mental is more important to me than the physical. The last thing I want to do before a round (or even practice for that matter) is to do something that has a chance of getting me off on the wrong foot.

For the same reason I never practice putting at a hole. I put a dime on the practice green and putt at that. If I miss a dime I think nothing of it but the last thing I want to do before a round is to miss a few putts at a hole. Surprising how seldom I miss the dime from makeable distances anyway and that gives me even more confidence.

Since I typically play very early, it's hard to squeeze in range work. When I can, I find it helpful to start with half swings to warm up and reinforce the proper mechanics. When I get to the driver I try not to diagnose any flaws but to rather to see what sort of ball flight I'll be working with that day.

Once or twice I have done about 5 mintues of yoga stretching at home via YouTube and found that it did a great job of loosening me up.

Back in my 20's and 30's I use to be able to jump out of the car, hit a few balls on the range and go. Not so much anymore, and now that I'm approaching 50 I wouldn't even think of hitting a golf ball on the course or range without stretching out for a good 10-15 minutes.

The better I stretch out the quicker I feel warmed up and the farther I hit the ball that day. It sucks getting old but you can still get the ole body in a decent golf swing position by doing some good pre-round, or pre-range stretching

As far as hitting balls on the range I like to hit about 12-15 balls and most of those are wedges to set the rhythm for the day. Then I'll hit about 10 chips, and 10-15 putts from different ranges. I do have one superstition that has been with me for years and that is before I walk to the first tee I have to make my last putt on the practice green. Usually it's just a tap in or short 4 footer but either way I have to see the ball drop before I'm ready. I guess it's just a mental check that signals time to go play.